"Ego is a living planet who is able to manifest himself in different ways," Gunn said. "He's been alone for millions of years and he's learned how to control the molecules around him in such a way as to create avatars of themselves, such as Kurt Russell. I think Ego was a very lonely character out there by himself and went off in search of love and perhaps found it in Quill's mother".

What does that mean for Star-Lord, other than making his alias seem a bit less silly? We'll have to wait until the movie comes out in May for more answers. At least Guardians fans won't have to go another three years before seeing more of their adventures: Gunn confirmed in the same interview that the unlikely band of space heroes will have an important role in the events of Avengers: Infinity War.

"You know listen, I don't think we should overstate things that it is an Avengers movie, but the Guardians are a part of the cosmic universe, they're a part of Thanos' stories, so, they are in there, and they have, not the biggest, but, an integral part to that," Gunn explained.

So no, they probably won't get quite as much screentime as Iron Man, Captain America, or other actual Avengers, but they won't just fly by and wave from the cockpit of the Milano, either.

Directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will hit UK cinemas on April 28, 2017 and open in US theaters on May 5, 2017. Avengers: Infinity War, starring nearly everyone to ever appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, is scheduled to hit theaters on May 4, 2018.